Did you know that not all jobs in health care require working directly with patients? Medical laboratory personnel work behind in the scenes, running the tests to help doctors diagnose illnesses and make decisions about patient treatments. Medical Lab scientists and technicians use sophisticated biomedical instruments and technology, computers, and other methods to perform tests on blood and body fluids.

There are many different ways to climb the career ladder in medical laboratory science. You can become a clinical laboratory technician with two years of training at a community college or a clinical laboratory scientist with a bachelors or masters degree. Because clinical laboratory scientists have a more extensive theoretical knowledge base, they are usually responsible for more complex laboratory procedures and more sophisticated analyses. They also evaluate/interpret the results, problem solve, consult, conduct research and develop new test methods.

Two sites have information on medical laboratory careers. We highlight the sites and the content we think you'll find useful as you explore your career options in this area of healthcare.